Friday, September 23, 2016

India, France ink deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets

With this signing of mega fighter jet deals the balance of power will be shift in favor of India with its immediate conflicting neighbors. India and France today inked the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets. The deals encourages the technology transfer in phases and jets to be assembled in India to garner employments and other immediate benefits.This Defence deal was signed in New Delhi in the presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian. The aircraft will be equipped with latest missiles and weapon system. The 7.8 billion Euro deal is crucial for the Indian Air Force and is expected to give India the dominant status in the air.

The features that make the Rafale a strategic weapon is its Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Meteor air-to-air missile with a range in excess of 150 kilometre. During the Kargil war, India had used a BVR having 50 kilometre range. The delivery of this aircraft will start in 36 months and will be completed in 66 months from the date the contract is inked.